1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a life-sized companion doll that gives the impression that more humans are in a vehicle that is actually the case or that can otherwise provide companionship.
2. Background of the Prior Art
Policing is a tough job requiring police officers to deal with some of the toughest elements of society. Murderers, rapists, drug dealers, and thieves are on the resumes of some of the elements that an officer must deal with on a daily basis. Not only must officers deal with the aftermath of the damage caused by criminals, investigate the crimes, and catch the perpetrators, the police must be ever vigilant for their own safety from the criminal element. A portion of the criminal population is not only determined to commit crimes, but also to specifically cause harm to the police. Some criminals are bent on hurting a particular cop for specific actions of the cop while others seek to hurt any police officer with whom they come in contact either for revenge or out of shear sociopathic instinct.
One situation where an officer may be particularly vulnerable is when the officer parks his or her patrol car, often at night, in order to catch up on paperwork, have a meal, sit and observe the area, or simply to take a well deserved break. Such situations are ideal for a bad guy to try and inflict harm on an officer. The officer is alone, stopped, and possibly with his or her guard down somewhat. If the bad guy strikes suddenly, he may gain the upper hand before the officer has time to react. Even if the officer can get to the radio, backup may be several minutes away, enough time for the bad actor to do the harm and escape.
To combat this problem, many police jurisdictions partner up their patrol officers. A single bad guy does not want to attack two officers. Even if the criminal is able to gain the upper hand on one officer, the other will call in for help and also take care of the bad guy, possibly upon less than pleasant terms. While there is safety in numbers, many jurisdictions simply lack the manpower and/or the resources to double up their patrol officers and must send out each cop alone and rely on backup for safety. However, to help protect their officers from ambush, some jurisdictions have resorted to placing a mannequin or other similar human form into the passenger seat of the patrol car in order to give the appearance of two officers being present in the vehicle. If a criminal thinks that two officers are present, the criminal will move on. The problem with this method is that the mannequin is entirely static and if a person observes the mannequin for some length of time, as a criminal might in planning an ambush, the mannequin will be discovered for what it is—non-human.
Accordingly, there exists a need in the art for a device that helps protect a single patrol officer from someone out to intentionally harm an officer by giving the illusion that more than one officer populates a patrol car. Such a device must be human-like in appearance even if observed for some length of time. Ideally such a device can also provide companionship to an officer or even a non-officer at times other than at work and at locations other than a patrol car, such as a bedroom. The device should be of relatively simple design and construction and be relatively easy to use and maintain.